Bottle Packaging

ABSTRACT

A bottle holder ( 2 ) comprising a base ( 3 ) and a lid ( 4 ), wherein the base comprises a plurality of bottle receiving portions ( 7 ), each bottle receiving portion being configured to engage a neck of a bottle, the lid being configured to engage the base and cover tops of bottles engaged by the base.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to packaging of bottles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Bottles are conventionally packed in boxes, in heat-shrink plastic film,or a combination thereof.

A box for accommodating bottles usually has a relatively small number ofnarrow compartments (e.g. 6 or 12), each of which can accommodate onebottle. The bottles stored in the box are not in direct contact witheach other. The box may be equipped with one or more handles.

The boxes which are resilient enough not to break under the weight ofthe bottles and which are sufficiently resistant to humidity are usuallyexpensive, because they need to be made of thick cardboard, wood orplastic. Boxes made of thin (cheaper) cardboard often fail, especiallywhen removed from a fridge and soaked with environmental humidity. Thisoften leads to damage of the bottles.

Bottles of soft drinks are often packed by placing them on a cardboardtray and then surrounding the tray and bottles with a thick heat-shrinkplastic film. Once the film has been wrapped around the bottles it issubjected to heat treatment in a heat tunnel to shrink the film aroundthe bottles and the tray. The heat treatment is expensive. In addition,the heat treatment may be damaging for certain fluids, or even dangerouswhen used with certain fluids. The heat treatment may also cause layersof plastic bottles to become delaminated.

It is desirable to provide packaging for bottles which overcomes one ormore of the above disadvantages, or other disadvantages associated withprior art packaging. The packaging may be cheap, sufficiently resilientpackaging for bottles, may be safe, may use less material, may be easyto unpack and may be recyclable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a bottleholder comprising a base and a lid, wherein the base comprises aplurality of bottle receiving portions, each bottle receiving portionbeing configured to engage a neck of a bottle, the lid being configuredto engage the base and cover tops of bottles engaged by the base.

The invention advantageously allows bottles to be held by the bottleholder and transported easily.

The bottle receiving portions may comprise a plurality of flapsseparated by cuts.

The cuts may be radially extending.

Inner edges of the flaps may define holes at the centre of the bottlereceiving portions.

The flaps may be triangular, sections of an annulus or trapezoidal.

The cuts may be configured such that outer ends of the cuts are at least5 mm from the neck of the bottle in use.

The base and the lid may be connected via a hinge. The base and the lidmay be configured to be opened and closed using the hinge.

Structures may be indented into the base of the bottle holder.

Structures may be indented into the lid of the bottle holder.

The structures indented into the lid may correspond with the structuresindented into the base such that when the lid is closed the structuresin the lid contact the structures in the base.

An uppermost surface of the lid may be a planar surface, excluding anyindented structures.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a bottlepackage, comprising a bottle holder according to the first aspect of theinvention, a plurality of bottles engaged in the bottle receivingportions provided in the bottle holder, and a plastic film wrappedaround the bottle holder and the bottles.

The bottle receiving portions may hold the bottles with a force ofengagement of less than 55 N.

The force of engagement may be less than 40 N.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a methodof packaging bottles, comprising providing a bottle holder with a baseand a lid, the lid comprising a plurality of bottle receiving portions,engaging a bottle neck into each bottle receiving portion, and wrappingthe bottle holder and the bottles in a plastic film.

An additional item may be placed in a space between the base and the lidof the bottle holder.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a methodof unpacking bottles from bottle packaging, the bottle packagingcomprising a bottle holder and a plastic film, the bottle holdercomprising a plurality of bottle receiving portions, each of the bottlereceiving portions engaging a bottle neck, the plastic film beingwrapped around the bottle holder and the bottles, the method comprisingremoving the plastic film from the bottles and the bottle holder, anddisengaging the bottles by pushing or pulling them out of the bottlereceiving portions in the bottle holder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, byway of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 depicts a bottle holder according to an embodiment of theinvention with bottles inserted into the bottle holder;

FIG. 2 is the bottle holder without the bottles and with the lid closed;

FIG. 3 is bottle holder with bottles inserted and the lid open;

FIG. 4 is the bottle holder with the lid open;

FIGS. 5-8 are schematic examples of a bottle receiving portion providedin the bottle holder;

FIG. 9 schematically depicts a bottle neck held by a bottle receivingportion;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the bottle packaging including aplastic film;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a packaging process according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing an unpacking process according to anembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-10 show an embodiment of the bottle packaging according to thepresent invention. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-10, six wine bottles 1are packed in the bottle packaging. Alternatively, the bottle packagingcould be used with other bottles, such as beer or spirit bottles,champagne bottles, soft drink bottles, detergent bottles etc. Dependingon the design of the bottle holder 2, more or less than six bottles 1can be packed in the packaging. The invention is not limited to aspecific number of bottles in the packaging. The packaging may containe.g. 2, 4, 8, 10, 12 or 24 bottles. The invention is not limited tobottles 1 having a particular volume. The bottles 1 may be of anyvolume, e.g. 250 ml, 385 ml, 0.5 l, 0.75 l, 1 l, 2 l or 2.5 l.

The bottle packaging comprises a bottle holder 2 and a plastic film 9(see FIG. 10). The bottle holder may be referred to as a tray. Thebottle holder 2 engages the bottle necks 1 a in a way described below,and holds the bottle necks 1 a such that a pre-defined force is neededto disengage the bottles 1 from the bottle holder 2. The bottoms of thebottles 1 are not supported by the bottle holder 2. The film 9 is thenwrapped around the bottles 1 held in the bottle holder 2, as describedbelow.

The bottle holder 2 with the bottles 1 is wrapped in the plastic film 9.The bottle holder 2 without the plastic film 9 may not hold the bottles1 with sufficient force for the bottle holder 2 to be lifted (thebottles may fall out of the bottle holder). This may apply in particularto heavier bottles, such as bottles having the volume of more than 0.5l. Therefore, in such a case, the bottle holder 2 itself should not beused to support and handle the bottles 1 e.g. in a factory, beforewrapping the bottle holder 2 and the bottles 1 in a plastic film 9.

In the example shown in the Figures, the bottle holder 2 is rectangular.Depending on the number of bottles 1 and other factors, the bottleholder 2 may be of any other suitable shape (e.g. square, hexagon,octagon etc.). In an embodiment, the bottle holder may be provided withrounded corners. This arrangement is beneficial because it reduces therisk of damage to the plastic film 9 (described below) by sharp cornersof the bottle holder 2.

The bottle holder 2 may be made of suitable plastic material. Forexample, the bottle holder 2 may be made of PET, preferably rPET. Theadvantages of using rPET include flexibility of the material, low costsand easy manufacturing of the bottle holder 2. When rPET is used, it isnecessary to wrap the bottle holder 2 with the bottles 1 in the plasticfilm 9, as mentioned above, especially with heavier bottles, because ofthe flexibility of rPET.

Alternatively, the bottle holder 2 may be made of any other materialwith some flexibility, such as different kinds of plastics.

The thickness of the material used to form the bottle holder 2 may bee.g. between 300 μm and 1000 μm. The material of the bottle holder 2 maybe thicker than 350 μm; such bottle holders 2 are more rigid.Preferably, the thickness of the material of the bottle holder 2 isbetween 450 μm and 550 μm, and may be for example 500 μm. Such thicknessprovides a good balance between the rigidity of the material and thecost of the material. If extra rigidity is required, the thickness ofthe bottle holder 2 may be more than 700 μm or even more than 800 μm.Such a bottle holder would be more expensive, but more stable. Thickermaterial may be used for example when heavier bottles are to be carriedby the bottle holder 2.

The bottle holder 2 comprises a base 3 and a lid 4. The base 3 and thelid 4 are both rectangular, and are connected together by a hinge 8. Thehinge 8 is positioned on one edge of the base 3 and the lid 4. Indifferent embodiments, the hinge 8 can be positioned at the shorter sideof the rectangle, or at the longer side of the rectangle. If the bottleholder 2 is not rectangular, the hinge is positioned on one side asappropriate.

The hinge 8 may be e.g. a living hinge (i.e. a flexible hinge formedfrom the same material as the base 3 and the lid 4). The material whichforms the hinge may be thinner than material which forms the base 3 andthe lid 4. The living hinge is advantageous because it is easy tomanufacture and does not require introduction of another (e.g. moreflexible) material or of complex mechanical components. Therefore, thecost of the packaging can be kept low.

The base 3 and the lid 4 both comprise a base plane 3 a, 4 a, and anelevated rim 3 b, 4 b. The outer surface (as seen when the lid 4 isclosed) of the base plane 4 a is preferably planar (excluding anyindented structures), so that items can be positioned on the outersurface. For example, another similar bottle pack may be positioned ontop of the lid 4.

The base 3 of the bottle holder 2 comprises bottle receiving portions 7.The bottle receiving portions 7 are positioned on the base plane 3 a,between the elevated rims 3 b (shown in FIG. 4). Examples of bottlereceiving portions 7 are shown schematically in FIGS. 5-8. The bottlereceiving portions 7 may be circular (as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8),hexagonal (as shown in FIG. 7), or any other suitable shape. Each of thebottle receiving portions 7 comprises radially extending cuts 7 b, whichdivide the bottle receiving portion 7 into flaps 7 a. The flaps 7 a maybe e.g. triangular, sections of an annulus, trapezoidal, or any othersuitable shape. The flaps 7 a are flexible enough to be bent inwardswhen bottle neck 1 a approaches them and is pushed through the bottlereceiving portion 7 (described below). The flaps 7 a engage the bottlenecks 1 a. An example of this is depicted in FIG. 9, with the flaps 7 aengaging an outward step which extends around a bottle neck 1 a. Suchoutward steps are conventionally provided in bottle necks. In FIG. 9 theoutward step forms a lowermost surface of a radial ridge 1 b whichextends around the bottle neck. Such a radial ridge is conventionallyprovided on wine bottle necks. In another embodiment the outward stepmay form a lowermost surface of a radial flange which extends around thebottle neck. Such a radial flange is conventionally provided on the neckof plastic soft drink bottles.

The radial cuts 7 b may consist of cuts of the same length (as shown inFIGS. 5-7), or of cuts of different lengths (one example is shown inFIG. 8). In particular, if there is an even number of cuts, shorter cutsand longer cuts can alternate as shown in FIG. 8.

The radial cuts 7 b may divide the bottle receiving portions 7 into e.g.4, 6 or 8 flaps, as shown on FIGS. 5 to 8, or any other suitable numberof flaps. Preferably, the number of flaps is between 3 and 8. Thesmaller the number of flaps 7 a, the more rigid the flaps 7 a are, andthe more difficult it is to insert a bottle neck 1 a through the bottlereceiving portion 7. On the other hand, the greater the number of flaps,the more flexible the flaps become, and the easier it is for the bottle1 to disengage from the bottle receiving portion 7.

The flaps 7 a may be long enough to cover the whole bottle receivingportion 7, with their tips meeting in the middle of the bottle receivingportion 7, as shown in FIG. 5. Alternatively, the flaps 7 a may beshorter, not covering the whole bottle receiving portion 7, as shown inFIGS. 6 to 8. In that case, the tips of the flaps 7 a do not meet in themiddle of the bottle receiving portion 7, but instead inner edges of theflaps define a hole 7 c in the middle of the bottle receiving portion 7.FIG. 6 shows the hole 7 c as being circular, but it is to be understoodthat the hole 7 c could have other shapes, e.g. hexagonal as depicted inFIG. 7. The size of the hole 7 c may generally correspond with the sizeof a neck 1 a of a bottle to be received in the hole (excluding a ridge1 b provided around the neck). The shape of the hole 7 c may roughlycorrespond with the size of a neck of a bottle to be received in thehole. The hole 7 c, may be slightly smaller than the neck of the bottlesuch that the flaps 7 a engage against the neck of the bottle (e.g. upto 2 mm smaller measuring across the hole). This may ensure that thereisn't a gap between the flaps and the neck of the bottle (there may be atolerance of around 1 mm in dimensions of the bottle holder).

Embodiments which are provided with a hole 7 c are preferable becausethey provide more controlled engagement with the neck 1 a of the bottle1. When a hole 7 c is provided, inner edges of the flaps 7 a may provideengagement around substantially all of the bottle neck 1 a. That is,substantially all of the inner edges of the flaps 7 a may be in contactwith the bottle neck 1 a. If no hole is provided, such as depicted inFIG. 5, then engagement between the bottle neck 1 a and the flaps 7 amay be limited to innermost corners of the flaps. Furthermore, a largedeflection of the flaps 7 a is needed in order to allow the bottle neck1 a to pass into the bottle receiving portion 7. This large deflectionmay in some instances crease the flaps 7 a such that they do notresiliently move back to being engaged against the neck 1 a of thebottle 1. Although embodiments without a hole are less preferred, theynevertheless be used in some instances, for example to hold lighterbottles (e.g. bottles weighing 100 g or less).

In an embodiment, the bottle receiving portions 7 may be configured suchthat bottles 1 can be disengaged using a force of less than 55 N (e.g.by selecting an appropriate length of cuts 7 b when forming the flaps 7a). A force of 55 N may be exerted by most people, thereby allowingdisengagement of the bottles 1. In an embodiment, the bottle receivingportions 7 may be configured such that bottles 1 can be disengaged usinga force of less than 40 N. A lower force will allow easier and morecomfortable disengagement of bottles. The bottle receiving portions 7may be configured such that force exerted due to the weight of a bottle1 does not disengage the bottle. For example the weight of a filledbottle may be around 1 Kg, in which case the bottle will exert adownward force of around 10 N. This force will be multiplied when thebottle holder 2 and bottles 1 are being moved around (e.g. during thepacking process). Thus, it may be desirable for the force needed fordisengagement to be greater than the force exerted due to weight of thebottle (e.g. at least twice the force exerted due to weight of thebottle). The force needed for disengagement may be less than a forceneeded to retain the bottles 1 in the bottle holder 2 throughout asupply chain (the force needed would be in excess of 55 N). However,wrapping the bottles 1 and bottle holder 2 in tensioned film (asdescribed below) will provide additional retention force to securelyhold the bottles in the bottle holder throughout the supply chain. Theforce needed for disengagement may alternatively be referred to as theforce of engagement. The weight of bottles 1 to be held by the bottleholder 2 may be taken into account when determining the force ofengagement (a smaller force of engagement may be used for lighterbottles).

The force which is required to remove a bottle from the bottle receivingportion 7 will depend upon the distance from the bottle neck to outerends of the cuts 7 b. In an embodiment, the bottle holder 2 may be usedto hold wine bottles. Necks 1 a of the wine bottles may have a diameterof 30 mm, and may be provided with a ridge 1 b having a larger diameter(see FIG. 9). In order to be able to receive the wine bottles, outerends of the cuts 7 b may extend at least 5 mm beyond the neck 1 a of thewine bottle (excluding the ridge 1 b of the neck). The outer ends of thecuts 7 b may for example extend up to 15 mm beyond the neck 1 a of thewine bottle. Thus, outer ends of the cuts 7 b may be between 20 mm and30 mm from the centre of the bottle receiving portion 7.

In general, outer ends of the cuts 7 b may be configured such that theyare around 5 mm or more from the neck of a bottle in use. The outer endsof the cuts 7 b may be configured such that they are up to around 15 mmfrom the neck of a bottle in use. As noted above, in embodiments inwhich the flaps 7 a extend to a hole 7 c at the centre of the bottlereceiving portion 7, the size of the hole 7 c may generally correspondwith the size of a neck of a bottle to be received in the hole. Wherethis is the case, the cuts 7 b may have a length of around 5 mm or more.The cuts 7 b may have a length of up to around 15 mm.

In general, outer ends of the cuts 7 b may be configured such that theyhave a radial distance from the centre of the bottle receiving portion 7which is between 1.3 and 2 times the radius of the bottle neck. In otherwords, the cuts 7 b may be configured such that the radial distance fromthe centre of the bottle receiving portion 7 to the outer ends of thecuts is at least 30% greater than the radius of the bottle neck. Thecuts 7 b may be configured such that the radial distance from the centreof the bottle receiving portion 7 to the outer ends of the cuts is up to100% greater than the radius of the bottle neck.

In embodiments where cuts 7 b of more than one length are provided (e.g.as depicted in FIG. 8), the outer ends of the shorter cuts may be lessthan 5 mm from the neck of a bottle in use. In embodiments where thebottle receiving portion 7 is provided with a hole 7 c, the shorter cutsmay extend less than 5 mm from the hole.

The distance from a bottle neck to outer ends of the cuts 7 b may beselected such that the force needed to disengage a bottle 1 from thebottle holder 2 has a desired value (e.g. less than 55 N or less than 40N). Increasing the distance will reduce the force, whereas reducing thedistance will increase the force. In addition, the thickness of thematerial used to form the bottle holder 2 will have an effect upon theforce needed to disengage a bottle. Using thicker material will increasethe force, whereas using thinner material will reduce the force.

A plastic film 9 may be wrapped around the bottles 1 and the bottleholder 2, as described below.

The base 3 of the bottle holder 2 may further comprise pillars 5. In theembodiment shown in the Figures, there are three pairs of bottlereceiving portions 7, positioned so that the bottle receiving portions 7form two rows, each row comprising three bottle receiving portions 7.The pillars 5 are positioned between each four bottle receiving portions7, and also between each sidewall of the base 3 and the adjacent pair ofbottle receiving portions 7. In the embodiment shown in the Figures,there are four pillars 5. More generally, if there are 2n bottlereceiving portions 7 organized in two rows, there may be n+1 pillars 5.If there are more rows of bottle receiving portions 7, the pillars 5 arepositioned between each four bottle receiving portions 7, and alsobetween the sidewalls and the adjacent pair of bottle receiving portions7. Preferably, in such case, there are pillars positioned also betweeneach corner and the adjacent bottle receiving portion 7.

The pillars 5 are indented into the bottle holder and protrude above thebase plane 3 a of the bottle holder 2. The pillars 5 may be ofapproximately the same height above the base plane 3 a as the elevatedrim 3 b. The pillars 5 are formed e.g. by pressing the material into amould of suitable shape. The pillars 5 may be formed as a protrusion,forming a cavity on the outer side of the base plane 3 a. Alternatively,the pillars 5 may be filled with material, e.g. rPET. This makes thebottle holder 2 more resilient, but also more expensive.

The lid 4 of the bottle holder comprises pillars 6, with positions whichcorrespond with the pillars 5 provided on the base 3, so that when thebottle holder 2 is closed, the pillars 5 provided on the base 3 face thepillars 6 provided on the lid. If the pillars 5, 6 are sufficientlyhigh, the pillars 5, 6 may engage when the lid is closed. Preferably,the pillars 5, 6 touch when the lid 4 is closed. This provides thebottle holder with improved strength and rigidity, which is particularlyuseful in cases when there is another bottle pack with bottlespositioned on top of the bottle holder 2. The pillars 6 formed on thelid 4 of the bottle holder 2 may be formed similarly to the pillars 5formed on the base 3 of the bottle holder 2.

In other embodiments other structures may be used to provide the bottleholder with improved strength and rigidity (instead of pillars or inaddition to pillars). The structures may be in the form of shapesindented into the bottle holder 2. For example, the bottle holder 2 maybe provided with ribs which are indented into the bottle holder. Inanother example an indented ring may encircle each bottle receivingportion 7. In another example indented lugs may extend inwardly fromsides of the bottle holder 2. The ribs, rings, lugs or other shapes mayfor example be provided in the base 3 and the lid 4 of the bottle holder2 in corresponding positions such that they face each other and touchwith each other when the lid is closed. The pillars, ribs, rings, lugsor other shapes may be provided with male and female portions whichengage into each other when the lid is closed. Alternatively, they maybe provided with faces which press against each other when the lid isclosed (e.g. planar faces).

The elevated rims rim 3 b, 4 b may be provided with male and femalefeatures which engage into each other when the lid is closed. A flangemay extend outwardly from the elevated rims 3 b, 4 b.

The bottles 1 are positioned in the bottle holder 2 so that they passthrough the bottle receiving portions 7. The flaps 7 a engage the bottlenecks 1 a, and the bottle necks protrude slightly (e.g. 1-3 cm) abovethe bottle receiving portions 7. The lid 4 of the bottle holder 2 may beopen during positioning of the bottles 1 (although this is notessential). When the lid 4 is closed, the inner part of the base plane 4a may touch the bottle closures (not shown).

In one embodiment, when the bottles 1 are engaged in the bottlereceiving portions 7, there is enough space between the lid 4, the base3 and/or the bottle closures for positioning of branded material (e.g.leaflets explaining the origin of the wine in the packaging) or otheritems. In an embodiment, there may be enough space in the bottle holder2 to accommodate an item such as one or more packages of peanuts. Suchan item is placed between pillars 5 and bottle tops to avoid the itembeing crushed.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart which sets out steps that may be used to packagebottles using an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, whenengaging the bottles 1 into the bottle holder 2, the lid 4 of the bottleholder 2 is open (step S1). When the bottles 1 and any additionalmaterials as described above have been positioned in the bottle holder 2(steps S2, S3), the lid 4 is closed (step S4). The bottle holder 2 withthe bottles 1 is then wrapped in plastic film, as described below (stepS5). In an alternative method the lid 4 of the bottle holder 2 may be inthe closed position throughout the method. It is not necessary for thelid 4 to be open in order to engage the bottles into the bottle holder2. Similarly, it is not necessary to place additional materials betweenthe base 3 and the lid 4 of the bottle holder 2.

For the purpose of closing the bottle holder 2, and keeping the lid 4 ofthe bottle holder 2 closed, conventional closing features such ascorresponding grooves and protrusions (not shown) may be provided.

The bottle holder 2 serves as a feature which holds the bottles 1 inplace (collates the bottles 1) during a wrapping process (describedbelow) and during subsequent handling. After wrapping in the plasticfilm 9, the bottles are held in a fixed position with respect to eachother, thus minimizing the risk of being damaged by colliding together.During subsequent handling, the bottle holder 2 also serves as a baseonto which another bottle pack can be positioned without difficulty (forexample during palletisation). The bottle packs can therefore be storedor transported in a space saving manner. Additionally, the bottle holder2 of the bottle pack can be gripped through an opening formed in thefilm 9 (described below), lifted and handled.

Once the bottles 1 are positioned in the bottle holder 2 as describedabove, the plastic film 9 is wrapped around the bottles 1 and the bottleholder 2. The process of wrapping the bottles 1 and the bottle holder 2in the plastic film 9 may be conventional, e.g. as described in patentapplications published under WO9009316, WO2006051281, WO2011004157,WO2015025142 or WO2015067940. In particular, the bottles 1 and thebottle holder 2 may be wrapped helically with the plastic film 9. As thebottles 1 and the bottle holder 2 are wrapped, more than one layer ofthe film 9 may cover the wrapped areas of the bottles 1 and the bottleholder 2. With the helically wrapped bottles 1 and the bottle holder 2,successive layers of the film overlap. The number of layers of theoverlapping film when the bottles 1 and the bottle holder 2 are wrappedhelically may depend on the material and/or thickness of the plasticfilm 9 and on the size and weight of the bottles 1 positioned in thebottle holder 2. The number of layers may be determined based on theknown properties (such as strength) of the plastic film 9.

The film may be for example 250 mm wide, 125 mm wide, or of any othersuitable width. A single layer of the pre-stretch film with some overlapis sufficient for light to medium weights, i.e. for bottles 1 withoverall weight of less than 10 kg (for example, six 0.7 l bottles ofwine, spirit or champagne). Typically the film overlaps are between20-100 mm, depending on the weight of the bottles 1. The overlap may betowards the bottom end of that range for light bottles and may betowards the top end of the range for heavy bottles. A typical overlapmay be round 60 mm. At any single point on the wrapped bottles 1 and thebottle holder 2, there may be one or two layers of the film 9. Forpackaging with bottles 1 with overall weight of more than 15 kg, forexample between 15 kg to 25 kg (e.g. 15 or more 0.7 l bottles of wine,spirit or champagne), three layers of the film may be used. For example,if 7 μm thick pre-stretch LDPE film is used, 1-3 layers are sufficientto hold the bottles 1 with an overall weight up to approx. 20 kg. Inpractice, due to legislative limitations, the overall weight of thebottles 1 may be limited to e.g. 15 kg or 9 kg. As mentioned, 1-2 layersof the pre-stretch film 9 are sufficient for bottles 1 with such overallweight

Before the film 9 is wrapped around the bottles 1, the film isstretched, i.e. tension is created in the film 9 by stretching it in alongitudinal direction. When the film is wrapped around the bottles 1and the bottle holder 2, the tension present in the film due tostretching exerts force on the bottles 1 and the bottle holder 2. Theforce exerted by the film adds to the force exerted by the bottle holder2 on necks of the bottles 1, such that the bottles are held securely inplace throughout a supply chain. The combined force which secures thebottles 1 to the bottle holder 2 may be greater than 55 N.

The film 9 may include some pre-stretch, i.e. may have been stretchedduring manufacture and may be delivered in a stretched form. Where thisis the case a further stretch of up to around 15% may be possible. Anadditional stretch of up to around 15% may be applied to the film duringthe wrapping process.

During the process of wrapping the bottles 1 and the bottle holder 2 inthe plastic film 9, the film may be perforated on at least one side ofthe bottles 1. The perforations 9 b are created during packagingprocess. In one example, the stretched (tensioned) film passes over afixed perforation wheel (not shown) when the bottles 1 and the bottleholder 2 are being wrapped in the plastic film 9. The perforation wheelmay have a shark-tooth design. In another example the perforations 9 bmay be formed using laser cutting. In general, any suitable form ofperforating apparatus may be used to form the perforations.

The film 9 may be cut after the bottles 1 and the bottle holder 2 havebeen wrapped, thereby separating the bottle pack from a next bottlepack. Any suitable form of cutting system may be used to cut the film 9,e.g. heated bar, hot wire, heated crimping blade or other thermalcutting system. Other cutting systems may be used such as a laser orultrasonic cutter.

The perforations 9 b form a preferred line of opening the plastic film9. The perforations 9 b are preferably provided along the whole lengthof the bottle pack. As the forces created from film tensioning atwrapping are at 90° to the line of perforation, the plastic film 9 doesnot break open prematurely. Only a small amount of force from a personis required to tear along the line of perforation. As the film tearseasily along the perforations 9 b under force exerted by the person, theperforations 9 b simplify the unwrapping process, thus making it quickerand more efficient. The perforations 9 b also eliminate the need for anytools such as knives, therefore reducing risk of injury.

The film used for wrapping the bottles 1 and the bottle holder 2 may bee.g. the pre-stretch LDPE film having thickness of 5 μm to 9 μm asdescribed above. Use of such pre-stretch LDPE film is beneficial becausesuch film shows advantageous stretch properties. Pre-stretch LDPE filmhaving thickness of 7 μm is particularly beneficial because of itsoptimal stretch properties. The pre-stretch LDPE film of theabove-described thickness, i.e. 5 μm to 9 μm, and more particularly 7μm, provides the bottles 1 as packed in the bottle holder 2 withincreased structural integrity without the need to use a heat tunnel tomake the film shrink. The pre-stretch LDPE film exerts force (pressure)on the bottles 1 and the bottle holder 2, thus holding necks of thebottles 1 inside the bottle holder 2 and preventing the bottles 1 fromfalling out, unpacking prematurely, etc. LDPE is also advantageousbecause it is fully recyclable.

With thickness of the pre-stretch LDPE film as described above, theforce exerted by the film is sufficient to hold the bottles 1 in thebottle holder 2 during handling and transport.

The plastic film 9 prevents the bottles 1 from disengaging from thebottle holder 2. The bottle holder 2 may be designed not to hold thebottles 1 alone, especially if there are many bottles (e.g. 15) to bepacked. At the same time, the bottles 1 stored within the bottle holder2 and wrapped by the film 9 are more visible (compared to a conventionalenclosed box where the product is only identifiable via a labelcontaining text or barcode). The bottles 1 wrapped in the plastic film 9allow an easy visual verification of the contents of the bottles 1 totake place (including verifying the fill level of the bottles). Pickingerrors can be reduced regardless of whether the picker has the abilityor proximity to read the text. Additionally, the plastic film 9 helps toprotect the bottles 1 from the environment. It is also immediatelyapparent if the plastic film 9 has been tampered with, because in suchcase the film 9 would be broken. If one or more bottles 1 are damaged ormissing, this is easily seen through the transparent plastic film 9.

Any equivalent material to the pre-stretch LDPE film may be used,provided it has similar properties to that of the pre-stretch LDPE filmof the above-given thickness. In particular, if the film stretches lessthan a 5 μm thick pre-stretch LDPE film, or more than a 9 μm thickpre-stretch LDPE film, it may be unsuitable for some applications.

The plastic film 9 may be wrapped around the bottles 1 and the bottleholder 2 in only one direction, so as to completely cover the longerside of the bottle holder 2, leaving the shorter side of the bottle packopen. This is shown in FIG. 10. Parts of the uncovered side of thebottle pack and the bottles 1 may be covered by untensioned, loose film9 a. Such untensioned portions 9 a may be less than 5 cm wide(relatively small to avoid wasting material).

The plastic film 9 may also be wrapped around the bottles 1 and thebottle holder 2 in two different directions, thus covering the bottles 1in their entirety. Enclosing the bottles 1 with the plastic film 9provides extra structural integrity, protects the bottles 1 againstenvironment, e.g. rain, humidity etc., and increases security. With thebottles 1 completely covered in the plastic film 9, it is easier todetect tampering. However, it also increases the amount of the filmused.

If the bottles 1 were to be wrapped in the plastic film 9 with no tray 2being used, it would be easier to take out one or more bottles 1 fromthe packaging by just putting one's hand through an opening formed inthe film 9 during wrapping process. The tray 2 prevents this, because itis not normally possible to disengage a bottle from the tray 2 when thetray 2 is wrapped in the film 9.

To disengage the bottles 1 from the bottle holder 2, the plastic film 9is first torn along the perforations 9 b (if present) and removed. If noperforations are present the plastic film may still be torn althoughthis may be more difficult and may require a blade. The bottle holder 2may be opened (with any additional materials provided between the lid 4and the bottle closures removed). Once the lid 4 is opened, the bottles1 may be removed relatively easily from the bottle receiving portions 7.During this process, the flaps 7 a may be damaged or destroyed. Theforce used to remove the bottles 1 from the bottle receiving portions 7may be less than 55 N, and may be less than 40 N (as discussed furtherabove).

The force provided by the flaps 7 a can be adjusted by varying thenumber of flaps (more flaps means less rigidity, less flaps means morerigidity). The force provided by the flaps 7 a can be also adjusted byvarying the length of the cuts 7 b (the shorter the cuts, the greaterthe force, and the longer the cuts, the smaller the force). In oneembodiment, the cuts can be provided with varying length, e.g. withevery second cut being shorter.

When unpacking the bottles, first, the perforations 9 b are located andthe film is torn apart along the perforations 9 b (step S6). The film isremoved from the bottles (step S7), the lid 4 of the bottle holder isopened (step S8), and any additional material (if provided) is removed(step S9). Then, the bottles 1 are disengaged from the bottle receivingportions 7 and removed from the bottle holder 2 one by one (step S10).FIG. 12 shows an overview of this method. This method may be used forexample when the bottle pack is resting on a supporting platform (e.g. atable). Typically, one hand pulls the bottle holder 2 upwards whilst theother hand pushes the top of the bottle 1 downwards.

In an alternative method the lid is not opened when removing a bottle 1from the bottle holder 2. This method may be used for example when thebottle pack is unsupported. In this method the bottle 1 is pulleddownwards with one hand whilst the bottle holder 2 is supported by theother hand.

While removing the bottles 1 from the bottle holder 2 one by one takeslonger than unpacking the bottles 1 in one go, it is safer, because therest of the bottles 2 are still held by the bottle holder 2 in position,and it is not easy to accidentally knock them over.

The bottle holder 2, and in particular the bottle receiving portions 7with the flaps 7 a are designed to fail when the bottles 1 are pulleddownwards to disengage the bottle. In this way, the flaps 7 a do notdamage the bottle closures (not shown) when the bottles 1 are disengagedfrom the bottle holder 2. In other words, the force required todisengage a bottle 1 from the bottle holder 2 (defined above) is notsufficient to damage the bottle closure, even when the bottle isprovided e.g. with a screw cap or a beer cap. As a consequence, it isrelatively easy to disengage the bottles 1 from the bottle holder 2.

After unpacking the bottles 1, the plastic film 9 as well as the bottleholder 2 may be recycled. The above-described packaging uses lessmaterial when compared to conventional packaging (e.g. a cardboard box).This is especially beneficial in the wine industry, where conventionalcardboard packaging has been identified as particularly wasteful.

1-17. (canceled)
 18. A bottle holder comprising: a base; and a lid,wherein the base comprises a plurality of bottle receiving portions,each bottle receiving portion being configured to engage a neck of abottle, and wherein the lid being configured to engage the base andcover tops of bottles engaged by the base.
 19. The bottle holder ofclaim 18, wherein the bottle receiving portions comprise a plurality offlaps separated by cuts.
 20. The bottle holder of claim 19, wherein thecuts are radially extending.
 21. The bottle holder of claim 19, whereininner edges of the flaps define holes at the centre of the bottlereceiving portions.
 22. The bottle holder of claim 19, wherein the flapsare triangular sections of an annulus or trapezoidal.
 23. The bottleholder of claim 19, wherein the cuts are configured such that outer endsof the cuts are at least 5 mm from the neck of the bottle in use. 24.The bottle holder of claim 18, wherein the base and the lid areconnected via a hinge, and wherein the base and the lid are configuredto be opened and closed using the hinge.
 25. The bottle holder of claim18, wherein structures are indented into the base of the bottle holder.26. The bottle holder of claim 18, wherein structures are indented intothe lid of the bottle holder.
 27. The bottle holder of claim 25, whereinthe structures indented into the lid correspond with structures indentedinto the base such that when the lid is closed the structures in the lidtouch the structures in the base.
 28. The bottle holder of claim 18,wherein an uppermost surface of the lid is a planar surface, excludingany indented structures.
 29. A bottle package, comprising: a bottleholder according to claim 18; a plurality of bottles engaged in thebottle receiving portions provided in the bottle holder; and a plasticfilm wrapped around the bottle holder and the bottles.
 30. The bottlepackage of claim 29, wherein the bottle receiving portions hold thebottles with a force of engagement of less than 55 N.
 31. The bottlepackage of claim 30, wherein the force of engagement is less than 40 N.32. A method of packaging bottles, comprising: providing a bottle holderwith a base and a lid, the lid comprising a plurality of bottlereceiving portions; engaging a bottle neck into each bottle receivingportion; and wrapping the bottle holder and the bottles in a plasticfilm.
 33. The method of claim 32, wherein an additional item is placedin a space between the base and the lid of the bottle holder.
 34. Amethod of unpacking bottles from bottle packaging, the bottle packagingcomprising a bottle holder and a plastic film, the bottle holdercomprising a plurality of bottle receiving portions, each of the bottlereceiving portions engaging a bottle neck, the plastic film beingwrapped around the bottle holder and the bottles, the method comprising:removing the plastic film from the bottles and the bottle holder; anddisengaging the bottles by pushing or pulling them out of the bottlereceiving portions in the bottle holder.